Dr. Brian Abrams Appointed Director of Music Therapy

DR. BRIAN ABRAMS JOINS THE MUSIC THERAPY DEPARTMENT
OF IMMACULATA UNIVERSITY

Brian Abrams, Ph.D., has been appointed director of the undergraduate and graduate music therapy programs at Immaculata University.
A native of the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Abrams earned his Bachelor of Arts in cognitive science at Vassar College and his Bachelor of Science in music therapy from the State University of New York at New Paltz. He continued his education at Temple University earning his Master of Music Therapy and his Doctor of Philosophy, in Health Studies in 2000. Dr. Abrams is a licensed professional counselor, a fellow in the Association for Music Therapy, and board certified as a music therapist.
To keep current in his field, Dr. Abrams is a member of the Association for Music and Imagery, Association for Integrative Medicine, the American Music Therapy Association, and until recently, a member of the Utah Association for Music Therapy.
Prior to his accepting the position at Immaculata, Dr. Abrams served as an assistant professor of music therapy at Utah State University for three years and as an adjunct assistant professor at Brooklyn College, Conservatory of Music for two semesters. From 1995 to 2000, he was a teaching assistant at Temple University´s Esther Boyer College of Music.
Throughout his career, Dr. Abrams has given numerous presentations including many for the annual conferences of the Music Therapy Association. A recurring theme for many of his presentations deals with music therapy and illness. He is currently researching the topic of Experiences of the Improvisational Life Portrait (ILP) as a form of music psychotherapy. As a spokesperson for the field of music therapy, he has been featured on radio, television, and various publications. In 1993, he wrote his first musical composition titled Penny Candy. Since then he has written five other original compositions that he uses in his profession.
Dr. Abrams comments that "I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in the academic community here at Immaculata. I fully welcome the many challenges and rewards of my new position." Dr. Abrams, his wife, and new baby boy live in Bryn Mawr.
Immaculata University, a Catholic, coeducational institution, is located 20 miles west of Philadelphia, south of the intersection of routes 30 and 352, between Paoli and Exton.